Double purpose suction cleaning nozzle



May12,1959 QLBROWNJR 2,885,716v

DOUBLE PURPOSE sucToN CLEANING NozzLE Filed Nov. 4. 1954 Y mlwanrroraY/QP ATToNEY United. States Patent DOUBLE PURPOSE SUCTION CLEANING NOZZLECharles' L. Brown,kJr.,vStamford, Conn., assgnor to ElectroluxCorporation, Old Greenwich, Conn., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationNovember 4, 1954, Serial N o. 466,852

1 Claim. (Cl. 15-417) My invention relates to cleaning tools for use inconnection with a vacuum cleaner and more especially to double purposetools, that is tools which are provided with two diiferent types ofsurface contacting structures which are usable selectively by theoperator for cleaning different kinds of surfaces.

More especially my invention relates to the combination of a dustingbrush with an upholstery nozzle. A dusting brush of this type is usefulfor cleaning hard surfaces, such as tables and the wooden portions ofchairs and sofas, while an upholstery nozzle is useful in cleaning softsurfaces, such as the upholstered portions of furniture.

While it has been long known to provide a duplex tool of this naturewith a swivel mounting on a suction conduit so that the tool may beturned through 180 in order to change from one kind of nozzle to theother, a serious disadvantage of such an arrangement is that it has beennecessary to make the overall height of the tool somewhat greater thanthe necessary diameter of the suction conduit. Inasmuch as the latter islimited by the desired air llow, this has imposed a limitation on theminimum height of the tool.

In accordance with the present invention I make the body of the toolwedge-shaped with only the rear portion of suicient thickness to receivethe suction conduit. From the rear portion the opposite faces of thetool converge towards each other and hence the front or nose portion issubstantially thinner, thus enabling at least this nose portion of thetool to be inserted into narrower spaces than would otherwise be thecase.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thefollowing description when taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings which form a part of this specication and in which;

Fig. l is a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of myinvention and is taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a bottom View of the nozzle shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 3-3 of Figs. l and2; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View on an enlarged scale taken on the line4 4 of Fig. l.

Referring to the drawings, reference character designates generally animproved dual purpose nozzle in accordance with my present invention.This nozzle includes parts 12 and 14 which are suitably secured togetheras by means of the bolt 16 which extends through the part 12 and engagesa threaded hole in a boss 18 of the part 14.

The outer face of the part 12 constitutes an upholstery nozzle havingsurface contacting structure 20, which includes a plurality of grooves22 leading to channels 24 extending into the part 12. Preferably, theinner ends of the grooves 22 are tangential to the outer ends of thechannels 24 so as to provide for spiral llow of the air as it passesfrom the grooves into the channels. As is shown particularly in Fig. 3the inner ends of the two channels 24 are joined together andcommunicate With 2 the4 inner end of a cylindrical passageway 26 whichis formed between the two parts 12 and 14.

The other face of the tool 10 is formed as a dusting brush. Thisincludes a circularrowof bristles 28 which Iare secured` in a circularmetal' channel 30 which in turn is` received in a channel portion 32 ofa rubber member', which also includes a circular'V bell portion 34disposed within the ring of bristles. Channel portion 32 is seated in arecess in part 14 and a rigid circular plate 36 is'forced within theinner 'circumference ofthe channel portion 32 and is secured to thevpart" 14v by means of bolts 38l. Plate 36 is formed with a centralaperture 40 which communicates with the outer end of a channel 42 formedn part 14. The inner end of this channel communicates with passageway 26and the part 14 is formed with a partition 44 which separates channels24 from channel 42.

It will be noted that the opposite faces of the tool 10 are inclinedwith respect to each other and converge towards each other at the frontend of the tool. Thus, the cylindrical passageway 26 is formed in therear and thicker end of the tool and it will be noted that the diameterof this passageway is greater than the width of the parts 12 and 14 atthe frontend of the tool.

Rotatably mounted in the passageway 26 is a cupshaped valve member 46which is formed with a port 48 in the otherwise closed inner endthereof. This valve member is rotatably secured within the passageway inany suitable manner, as for example, by the set screw 50 which engagesan annular groove 52 formed in the outer surface of the valve member.The inner bore 54 of the valve member is tapered in order to receive thetapered end of a suction conduit 56.

As shown in Fig. 1 and more particularly in Fig. 4, the outer end of thevalve member is provided with a flange 58 formed with diametricallyspaced recesses 60. A spring pressed detent 62 is carried by part 14 andis adapted to engage either of these recesses.

In the position of the parts shown in Fig. 1, the rotatable valve member46 is so positioned that the port 48 communicates with the channels 24leading to the upholstery nozzle and the detent 62 engages one of therecesses. Consequently, suction is applied from the conduit 56 to theupholstery nozzle. If the tool is rotated about the valve member 46, theport 48 will be brought into communication with the channel 42 and thedetent will engage the other recess and suction will be applied to theround brush. The valve member may be readily held stationary while thetool is rotated around it by its engagement with the tapered end of thesuction conduit 56. Also, if desired, the outer surface of the ange 58of the valve member may be grasped by the hand.

It will thus be seen that the height or thickness of the tool at itsfront end is less than would be the case if the two faces of the toolwere parallel to each other, inasmuch as the height of all parts of thetool in the latter case, in order to accommodate the suction conduit,would have to be substantially the same as the maximum height at therear end of the present tool.

While I have shown one more or less specific form of my invention it isto be understood that this has been done for the purpose of illustrationonly and that the scope of my invention is not to be limited thereby,but is to be determined from the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In a vacuum cleaner tool a wedge shaped nozzle having a rear portionthicker than the front portion and having opposed work faces withdissimilar surface contacting structures thereon converging towards saidfront portion, said wedge shaped nozzle member having an elongatedpassageway circular in cross-section extending inwardly a substantialdistance from said thicker rear portion and between` said convergingwork faces, said nozzle member having oppositely disposed channelsproviding communication between said work faces and the inner portion ofsaid passageway, a valve member located in said passage- .way and havingan exterior complementary to said` passageway, said valve member havinga portion extending transversely of said passageway across said channeland with an opening for providing selective communication with saidchannels, means whereby said valve member is rotatably secured in saidpassageway, and means for providinga connection between a hose and saidtool where- -by said tool may be rotated relative to said hose, saidtool having a plurality of outwardly extending grooves in one of itswork faces communicating at their inner ends with the respective channelleading to such work face.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Johnson---L May 2s, 1915 Reece Sept. 22, 1925 Karlstrom Aug. 27, 1940 CranmerApr. 8, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland June 16, 1939 France Mar. 8,1943 Great Britain June 20, 1947

